Where is moonshine illegal

However, moonshine can technically be anything! In some parts of the world, distilling alcohol at home is not just legal but is also a cultural practice. In fact, some historians even argue that distillation is a key indicator of a developing civilization. However, in the USA and most parts of Europe, distilling is against the law. There are many reasons that governments choose to prevent its citizens from making their own alcohol.

In fact, even buying or owning any type of still is illegal in many countries. Firstly, imposing permits on distillers ensures both traceability and quality control. People can easily fall ill, go blind or even die from poorly-made alcoholic spirits.

Therefore, it helps regulate the industry and prevent the availability of low-quality moonshine. Similarly, distilling is a dangerous practice if done improperly.

Not only can amateur distillers inadvertently poison people but stills are highly explosive. Finally, taxation is an important factor that many proponents of home distilling argue is the real reason for its illegality. After the USA passed the Revenue Act, it allowed authorities to shut down illicit stills while also charging owners for tax evasion if they sold their alcohol.

If you go back far enough, peasants would distil leftover crops in order to earn a little more money for the winter. In some cases, it was even a way of recycling. For instance, there are grape pomace brandies like grappa that use the leftovers from making wine. Needless to say, selling these goods would often undermine the local tax offices.

Therefore, permits ensure that producers will have to pay taxes on their production. Although moonshine is often associated with the Prohibition era, it is actually far older than that. Indeed, the term is British and was first recorded in in reference to alcohol. Nevertheless, moonshine is also known under many other names including hooch, white lightning, and mash liquor.

Different cultures produced their own types of moonshine using a variety of ingredients. As converting corn into whiskey was far more lucrative than selling the raw material, many moonshine operations continued their activities regardless. Despite crackdowns, its production became particularly concentrated in the East-Coast Appalachia region as it was easier to evade authorities. Following the introduction of Prohibition with the Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution over half a century later, moonshine became considerably more present.

Bootleggers who transported alcohol found that spirits were far more lucrative than moving wine or beer. Like the 16th-century Dutch traders who distilled French wine into cognac, they found that higher proof alcohol was easier to transport as the quantities were smaller. Therefore, it caused a shift in what was available on the market. In the lateth century, most US-made moonshine was transported by horse and cart.

However, the introduction of the automobile greatly changed the dynamic. After the moonshine was produced, it was transported by bootleggers or runners to its various destinations.

Like the production itself, the runs took place at night and the smugglers started using cars in order to quickly outrun the authorities. As officials started modernising their vehicles, bootleggers soon turned to modifying theirs as well.

The interiors were gutted out to reduce weight and increase storage space. The cars also featured powerful engines to outrun officials as well as improved handling.

Finally, resistant suspension was added to carry large quantities of alcohol. Today, federal rules say a household with two adults can brew up to gallons of wine and the same amount of beer each year. Within title 26 of the United States Code, section sets out criminal penalties for various activities.

Without proper training and licenses, people attempting to make and distil their own spirits are not aware of the proper use of its primary ingredient - ethanol. Jump directly to the content. Sign in. All Football. At this point, you may be wondering whether making your own moonshine is worth the trouble at all.

While it is illegal, each state does crack down on moonshiners a little differently. States in the South — such as the Carolinas, Virginia and Florida — tend to have stricter enforcement due to their history with rebellious moonshiners, Spoelman explains. But even if you live in a state like Missouri, where an individual may produce up to gallons of spirits per year without a permit, Spoelman stresses that distilling your own moonshine is still risky business.

This is because federal law trumps state law, so you still risk facing the aforementioned felonies, regardless of where in the country you live. In other words, distill your moonshine at your own discretion. Gabriela Barkho. Some moonshiners in the Cumberland Gap.